


When the Wolfbane Blooms

by rnr4ev



Series: Before the Transformation Takes [1]
Category: Persona 3
Genre: Arisato Twins AU, M/M, Supernatural Elements, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-07-27 13:25:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16219982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rnr4ev/pseuds/rnr4ev
Summary: While on a delivery for his sister, Minato meets a strange boy in the woods...A strange boy with bright blue eyes and oh so very sharp teeth.(Rated T for frightening situations and some smooches and language)





	1. the better to see you with, my dear

**Author's Note:**

> Just in time for the best month of the year amirite? Hopefully this will be completely posted by the end of October. Also this is 100% Oliver's fault thanks.

“Minnnnaaaa please????” Hamuko whines reaching out to him with teary eyes.

Minato sighs and side steps her, walking past her and the frankly terrifying mountain of used tissues piled up next to her.

  


“Ask Junpei to do it” he calls out as he heads to the kitchen. 

“Junpei’s out on a” she airquotes, “date” before continuing, “tonight so he said no.”

He frowns from behind the sandwich he’s in the middle of making.

“What about-“

She cuts him off,

“Yukari’s also sick, Fuuka’s spending the night with Natsuki, Akihiko‘s on Koromaru duty tonight and Mitsuru’s busy putting together something for the student council.”

He shoots her an unimpressed look.

“And Shinjiro?”

  


She has the audacity to not even look a bit ashamed, “nuh-uh, he’s on homemade soup duty”. 

  


He finishes putting together the sandwich and takes a bite, “Ken could do it” he shrugs.

  


His sister stands up fully, and turns to give him a hard look. He shivers, she’s been spending too much time with Mitsuru. 

  


“Minato Arisato, my dear, sweet baby brother” he bites back the reflex to say that a few seconds doesn’t count, “are you suggesting we send Ken, the 10 year old, by himself out in the woods?” 

  


He sighs. 

  


“Is it the same route as last time?”

She brightens considerably. “Yup! It’s just a package for Saori but I want her to get it tonight because it’s a bit time sensitive.” He raises his eyebrow at that but shrugs nonetheless.

  


With his fate sealed he finishes his sandwich and grabs the offending basket she uses for her deliveries as well as her travel cloak as his is currently missing. His sister’s is a deep crimson and Minato frowns down at it. He’ll have to ask Aigis if she’s seen his when she gets back from the lab. He shivers a bit as he steps out into the cold October air. If he gets sick from this he’s making his sister take over his shifts at Chagall Cafe for a week, and heads for road out of town.

  


The trip out of town by train takes about 20 minutes and from there it will be another 10 minutes to even get to the wood road leading to the house he’s visiting. 

  


For the most part the deliveries aren’t too bad. Often he’ll visit some of the recipients Hamuko likes to deliver to anyway, like the old couple at Bookworms or Tanaka at night, but he really doesn’t care for walking all the way out to the middle of nowhere to give Saori her...whatever it is that he’s delivering today. Minato looks down into the basket but his sister has wrapped the package up in a bow and he doubts he’ll be able to retie it if he decides to snoop. Not that he would of course…

His footsteps crunch throughout the silence as his feet leave the paved road to the dirt one. He never asked his sister why Saori’s family moved her all the way out here and to a new school. 

He supposes he could but, that would also require an amount of effort he’s not willing to put in. 

  


He lets his thoughts drift as his music player switches tracks.

  


It’s not so bad to be out on an afternoon like this. 

  


There’s no need to worry about bumping into people and it’s nice in a way...maybe he can convince Koromaru to come with him out here. The song switches again and a particularly strong gust of wind has Minato pulling up the red hood of his sister’s jacket over his head. He blinks back as the wind blows up again. The track skips slightly causing him to frown and then the next instant his foot hits an upturned root.

  


His stomach lurches. His vision tilts. The basket flies from his hands. His eyes shut against the impact...that never comes. 

  


He opens them to a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at him.

His vision lurches again as the stranger pulls him up.

  


“Whoa there, are you okay?” The voice and the concerned face behind it are much too close.

He steps back against the strangers steady arms around his torso.

  


“Personal space”

The arms disappear. 

  


“Sorry, sorry” The stranger raises his hands in a placating posture and Minato takes a moment to survey him. 

  


They look about the same age at least; although, Minato notes, the other boy is at least a head taller than him. His clothes are fairly nondescript, the only thing standing out is the long yellow scarf wrapped around his neck. Minato pauses, watches as it flutters against the cold wind. He’s not wearing a coat, but maybe the scarf is warm.

  


The stranger grabs the scarf around one hand and begins playing with the end absentmindedly.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, thanks for stopping my fall” 

  


Minato picks up the basket, checking its contents before turning to leave, when the stranger appears in front of him again.

  


“Aww your just going to leave?”

“I have an errand to run, goodbye”

“Wait!” The stranger grabs his arm.

  


Minato readjusts his grip on the basket. 

“Do you know where you’re going? It’s really easy to get lost out here” the stranger says. There’s a sincerity in his face but also an odd sense of optimism that almost reminds Minato of his sister.

  


Minato gently tugs his arm free. 

  


“I’ll be fine” He starts walking down the path again. The stranger follows.

“Well then could I go with you?”

  


“...” Minato readjusts the headphones around his neck. “I don’t even know you” He says, while skipping through his songs.

  


A hand is thrust in his face. “My name’s Ryoji Mochizuki” Minato stares down blankly at the hand, expecting the stranger to retract it. Instead the boy laughs, and with his other hand grabs Minato’s, bringing it up into the handshake. The stranger-Ryoji- has warm hands and calloused fingertips Minato sighs under his breath.

  


“Minato Arisato” He says and starts walking down the path again.

  


Ryoji laughs, it’s a warm sound, like his hands.

“Now we’re not strangers, so can I walk with y-” He stops cocking his head to the side.

His expression mellows out and he dips his head down into his scarf.

  


“Sorry, I actually just remembered I have somewhere to be, maybe we’ll see each other again though?… But” His face brightens and he flashes Minato a toothy grin, “be careful out here, make sure to stay on the path or” he lowers his voice to a stage whisper that has Minato flashing back to Junpei’s late night ghost stories, “the Big Bad Wolf might get you.” He wags his eyebrows dramatically with the words and then lets out another laugh. 

  


“Welp, see ya” Ryoji waves and then takes a turn off the path into the woods. Minato watches the yellow of the scarf as it fades out of view. 

  


His hands tingle as the cold creeps back in. Ryoji had a particular smile Minato thinks, as he finally settles on a song. His mind flashes back to the other boy’s face. The teeth had seemed just a bit to sharp and long. He shakes his head and rolls his eyes. He definitely has been spending too much time at night listening to Junpei’s Believe it or Not.

  


He makes it to out of the winding path 15 minutes later and enters the small and secluded residential district that Saori resides in. 

  


She accepts the package with a soft smile but frowns slightly when she realizes that it’s Minato at the door and not his sister. Her face becomes sympathetic when he tells her about his sister catching the flu and before he can leave to return home, she gives him 2 packets of tissue, a book and knitted cap to pass on. He dutifully puts them in the basket and takes her money for the reduced fee Hamuko uses for friends. He’s about to turn and leave when he gets an idea.

  


“Saori?” She looks at him questioningly, “Do you know a Ryoji?” she frowns in thought.

“I don’t think I so...but I haven’t been living here for very long... sorry.”

Minato shrugs, it was worth a try anyway. They say their goodbyes and he begins the long walk back. 

  


The sun has just begun to set as he steps again into the woods, casting everything in an orange light. He speeds up his steps. The trains won’t stop running until another few hours but he doesn’t really want to be out here in the dark, considering how hard the path is too see normally. 

  


There’s a crack of a branch breaking behind him, he turns his head, but the path behind him is empty. He feels his heart sink. It would be unrealistic to expect Ryoji to still be hanging around out here after all. He continues walking, but pauses as another snap echoes in the woods. 

  


He pauses his music.

  


Everything is silent, save for the rustling of leaves.

He takes a step, then another, then another.

He’s reaches down to his neck to turn the mp3 player back on when.

Snap!

This time from his right.

  


He peers into the rapidly growing darkness of the woods. There’s something there that’s bothering him. He blinks.

  


Two blue eyes blink back. He startles backwards, narrowly avoids landing on his butt and turns to jog down the path.

  


It’s only when he’s sure that he’s halfway into the woods that he pauses. Catching his breath. A cat darts out from behind him. Stopping at the edge of the road to glance back at him with blue eyes before darting into the underbrush.

  


Minato stares at the spot where it disappeared for a few moments before letting out a breathy laugh. A wolf indeed!

  


“Something funny?” A voice calls out from behind him. And he startles.

Ryoji steps up next to him.

“No, just...thought I saw something.” Ryoji gives him a concerned look before brightening.

  


“You came back!” Minato looks at him.

“Had to, to get home.” Ryoji nods sagely, as if he’d just said the wisest thing in existence. 

“Is that why you’re going the wrong way?”

“...?” Minato glances around him and then takes a look at the ground. Instead of the smooth dirt, there’s foliage and roots by his feet.

  


Ryoji laughs lightheartedly at Minato’s confusion.

“Here, I’ll show you back to the road” Minato nods

“Buuuut, it’s going to cost you” He rolls his eyes, of course.

  


“The price is, you have to promise to be my friend.” Ryoji finishes, topping the declaration off with another toothy smile.

Minato frowns.

“Are you-”

“-serious? Of course I am”.

  


Friends, huh? That meant getting attached, which meant… his mind flashes to the funeral, bundled up in his sister’s arms as they cried, the expressions on his classmates faces as he was transferred from school to school, Pharos as he said his goodbyes and then left without a trace. He blinked, switching to an image of Hamuko laughing with their dorm mates, walks with Ken and Koromaru, but…

  


“I’ll find my own way back” he turns back in the direction he’d come from.

Ryoji falls into step by his side.

  


“Alright, alright. How about this… I’ll lead you out of here but you have to at least give me a smile.” Minato gave him a blank stare.

  


“Alright fine, you drive a hard bargain. I’ll lead you out of here for free and for the low, low price of nothing I’ll be your friend and that way, when your ready, you can be my friend too.” 

  


Minato glanced at Ryoji’s open expression. Something about the wording, itched at the back of his mind, like he was forgetting something important.

  


“I don’t think that-”

“-friendships work like that? That’s okay, after all we’re the ones who get to decide how to be friends anyway.” 

  


Ryoji gently nugged Minato’s elbow, “and besides” he pointed “the exit to the woods is right there”. Minato looked in the direction and saw that Ryoji wasn’t wrong, in fact, he’d most likely skimmed off a good 5 minutes from his walk this way. 

  


“See? I told you I could help you.” He had a content smile across his face, it was almost endearing. 

  


They talked quietly to each other for the next few minutes. Ryoji’s company was...surprisingly enjoyable. He tended to be very animated as he talked but he was also willing to stop and listen as Minato would chime in. Catching the tail end of his sentences when Minato began to feel self conscious. The wind blew and Minato shivered, pulling the red hood over his head.

  


Ryoji peered at it curiously.

“Do you like the color red?” Minato shook his head no.

“It’s my sister’s actually. She’s normally the one that comes out here, but I decided to take her place for tonight”.

  


Ryoji smiled. 

“I’m glad.”

Minato turned away to hide his faint blush. They stepped to the edge of the woods.

  


“Well, have a nice night Minato” Ryoji said stopping.

Minato stopped as well.

“Your not coming?” Did that mean Ryoji lived in the residential area with Saori after all?

He shook his head.

“I’d better not but-” he took Minato’s hand again and raised it to his lips. “I’ll see you again, my friend.” 

  


Minato flushed a deep crimson and quickly turned his head and extracted his hand. When he looked back, Ryoji was gone.


	2. Oh the Werewolf, Comes Stepping Along

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aigis is fun to write

When he comes back to the dorm, Yukari and Hamuko are curled under a pile of blankets. Yukari is out cold, the only part of her visible under the bundle of blankets on the couch is the top of her hair. His sister on the other hand is sprawled out, half on the couch and half on the floor, a blanket and pillow haphazardly leaning out with her. He snickers a little when he notices the drool on the side of her face and turns to continue further into the dorm where he can hear the sound of running water in the kitchen.

 

He enters just as Shinjiro is neatly folding up the pink apron he pretends not to wear while cooking.

 

Shinjiro glances up at him and nods in lieu of a greeting. Minato nods back. A good, meaningful conversation. 

 

He goes to head up to his room but Shinjiro stops him.

 

“Can you help me move the girls back to their rooms? I can handle Yukari but…” his cheeks go pink as he glances at his sister and Minato scrunches up his nose in disgust at the thin line of drool leaving the corner of her mouth before rolling his eyes.

 

“Yeah yeah. Although she wouldn’t mind having you in her room.” If possible, Shinjiro's cheeks go even pinker.

 

Shinjiro swaddles Yukari up and picks her up like she weighs nothing before walking up the stairs. Minato waits a good 5 minutes and surveys the scene before him. Finally he finds what he’s looking for. He swipes the pillow out from under her and just like that the balance between falling onto the floor and laying on the couch is broken and Hamuko tumbles to the floor.

 

“Wha-?” She jolts awake in a tangle of blankets, the side of her face is oddly sticky and cold and her brother has a shit eating grin on his face… okay it’s more like a tiny grin and gleam in his eyes but she grew up with the mother fucker and that’s basically a shit eating grin coming from him. She grabs the pillow beside her on the floor and half heartedly throws it at him.

 

“I hope you’re happy with yourself. Treating a sick person like this.”

He shrugs.

 

“Time for you to go to bed. Doctor Shinji’s orders”. She rolls her eyes but picks up the blankets around her anyway to head upstairs. Minato waits until the sound of her footsteps fade before heading into the kitchen to grab some dinner and head to his room. Ken’s sitting at their dining table, a spread of textbooks around him although his interest seems solely focused on a small paperback book that’s in his hands. Minato lets him be and goes about eating his dinner. It’s not until the food is gone that he glances back at Ken again. 

He’s frowning in concentration at the book. Minato squints at the title.

_ Field guide to the Natural Pscience and Supernatural Around the World _

 

He lets out a soft huff of amusement. Out of all of them Ken is the most adamant about not being interested in anything Supernatural, claiming that the rarity of sightings and information makes it “not an important field of study”. Of course, Ken also wasn’t around during the first month where everyone was convinced the dorm was haunted (it wasn’t, Shinjiro just had a habit of slipping in to grab food and supplies without telling anyone first) or when Fuuka went missing for a week and they found her in the middle of the school at night with no memories on how she got there crying over a sleeping Natsuki. Not even Aigis could thoroughly explain that one, despite being made by the Kirijo group to detect Supernatural Activities. He sighs and shakes his head.

“Hey Ken?”

Ken startles and hastily puts the book down.

“I- I was only doing some reading for classes.” 

Minato nods.

“Of course, I was just wondering if that book mentioned anything about Iwatodai?”

Ken gives him a deer-in-headlights look, before shaking it off and replacing it with a more mellow expression.

“It mentioned that this area had odd readings but most pscience researchers figured it had to do more with the Island itself being manmade than anything else and others think that it doesn't mean anything.”

So… nothing new then.

“Thanks Ken.”

“No problem.” He smiles at him and tentatively reaches for the book again.    __

Minato goes to put the plate away and head up to his room when Ken’s voice reaches his ears again.

“I forgot to mention that the book does talk about how Iwatodai has a lot of strange disappearances and murders”.

 

When Minato does finally sleep, his dreams are filled with teeth to sharp and the memory of a boy he lost long ago.

 

Minato wakes to Aigis’ cold metallic fingers against his forehead. He startles back and hits his head against the wall the bed is pushed up against for his troubles.

 

“5 more minutes” he says and rolls over, completely ignoring the fact that this is the fifth time she’s broken into his room in the morning.

 

“My apologies. I just got back from the lab and I needed to examine you to make sure that both you and your sister were still alright.”

 

He groans and pulls the blanket up tighter over his face.

 

“It is time to get up, you have school in one hour”

“5 more minutes”

 

“Yo Aigis! You can’t just break into their rooms.” Junpei’s voice carries obnoxiously into the tiny dorm room and Minato shuts his eyes tighter as if that will help block out the noise.

“It was unlocked.”

“That doesn’t mean Minato wants you to wake him up before his alarm” 

 

And as if the universe is out to get him, Minato’s alarm clock takes that moment to go off. He sighs and gets up, slipping past an increasingly confused looking Aigis to give Junpei a “you tried” pat on the shoulder before heading to the bathrooms to get ready. Hamuko and Yukari are staying at the dorm to recover so he waits for Junpei before remembering that Junpei is chronically late to class and begins walking to the train.

School is uneventful. It’s a rare day where he doesn’t have any club activities after school and not even Junpei seems inclined to head out with him, saying that he has plans for after school when Minato asks. He shoulders his bag and begins the walk home. He’s about to reach the train station when he bumps into someone. He pauses, pops out one of his earbuds temporarily to apologize when the lady turns around.

His eyes meet her golden ones and for a moment time seems to stand still. The sounds of his music, the trains on the track, the people milling about all fade. The woman holds his gaze.

“Be careful young one” she says, eyes never leaving his, “some secrets are better left unknown” Minato stares back trying to process what she said.

“Do I… know you?” he ventures out.

She smiles, the motion drawing his attention away from her eyes and to the silvery white color of her short hair.

“Only from your dreams” He draws his eyes back up to her face, but by the time they reach the where her eyes should be, the woman is gone.

 

Minato rubs his eyes and then shrugs, popping the headphone back into his ear and turning up the music. He takes the train to the woods.

 

He’s 5 minutes in to his walk when he realizes that this maybe isn’t the smartest decision he’s made. 10 minutes in and he’s debating whether he should turn back or not. By 12 minutes he’s made up his mind, turning to head back the way he came and that’s when he spots him.

Ryoji is sitting, casually slumped against a tree, long legs stretched out in front of him, head dipped low into that bright yellow scarf of his. His eyes are closed and his breathing is even. Minato cautiously takes a step towards him.

Ryoji snaps awake all at once, blue eyes wide, his expression unreadable. He stares straight at Minato and Minato freezes. Some ancient part of him telling him that he has to absolutely. stay. still. Ryoji blinks and just like that, Minato’s heart goes back to beating regularly.

“You came back!” There’s genuine happiness in his voice, as if he truly was expecting Minato to just leave and never return.

Minato finds a smile growing on his face despite himself.

“I’m back.”

Ryoji jumps up, dusting himself off before crossing over to him. 

“No delivery today?” he asks, head tilting like a curious puppy.

Minato shakes his head.

“Oh then, did you want to get a bite to eat with me?” Ryoji asks. Minato can feel his eyes light up and his smile getting bigger.

“I would love that.” 

Ryoji smiles wider, canines glistening and for a second Minato finds his eyes transfixed on the sight, startling only when Ryoji claps him on the shoulder and begins to lead them both back out the way Minato came in.

Ryoji fills the silence easily. First by waxing poetic about the beauty of the woods and then he sets his sights on Minato, prodding him with questions about his day, about his friends, about the dorm. Minato answers them all, marveling in how easy it is to talk to him. Finally though, Ryoji asks him why he’s living here and Minato feels his throat close up, icy cold water through his veins. He blinks rapidly and breathes in deeply, trying to remember the breathing exercises Hamuko does. He finally settles his rapid heartbeat enough to change the conversation flow.

“So, where are we going?” he chances a look at Ryoji, hopping the boy will take the question as a cue to stop his questioning. Ryoji’s eyes are fixed on him. There’s concern there but an undercurrent of something… more. Minato blinks and the expression is gone.

 

“There’s a beef bowl place in town I’ve been wanting to try, but I usually don’t have a reason to head out there so I haven’t tried it yet.” He responds. 

They make their way out of the woods and Minato can’t help but stare. Ryoji catches his eyes.

“Is there something on my face?” He asks.

Minato shakes his head.

“Just… kind of thought you couldn’t leave the woods or something.” he responds instead of saying that the sunlight against Ryoji’s dark hair made it look like it was glittering or something else equally embarrassing.

Instead of laughing like he normally does, Ryoji looks pensive for a moment.

“Well, I suppose I’m going to have to fix that. If we’re going to be friends.” and he smiles again, although it doesn’t feel as genuine as before.

Minato looks at him curiously but Ryoji doesn’t elaborate.

T

he beef bowl place isn’t the best place he’s eaten at but it definitely isn’t the worst. Ryoji seems to love every moment of it. Excitedly digging into his food and showering praises towards the cook and the waitress, who goes an interesting shade of pink at the compliments. Minato rolls his eyes, but it’s his turn to blush when Ryoji turns his compliments towards him as well.

The exit the diner and Minato looks down at a text from Aigis asking him where he is.

Ryoji looks at the phone with curiosity but doesn’t comment while Minato replies.

 

“Is it time for you to go back home?” He asks.

Minato nods.

“Sometime I’ll have to invite you to my dorm, one of my roommates makes amazing food”.

Ryoji perks up a bit, “Is that Shinjiro?” Minato smiles, surprised that he remembered the name from their conversation during the walk.

“That’s the one.” 

Ryoji’s silent for a moment. 

“I think I would like that.”

 

They walk in comfortable silence towards the trains for the next few minutes. 

It’s not until Minato finds the train he needs to take that Ryoji speaks up again.

“Minato can I ask a favor from you?” he asks, voice slightly muffled behind his scarf. 

Minato frowns.

“Depends on the favor.” he replies.

“Don’t come into the woods tomorrow.” Ryoji continues, a serious expression on his face.

“Okay?” Minato answers.

“Promise me.” Ryoji continues.

“I promise.” Minato replies, brows furrowed in confusion.

Ryoji nods and smiles again, serious expression forgotten.

“Thank you” he turns to leave but stops, “oh and I would get a lot of sleep if I were you, it wouldn’t be fun if you caught the bug your sister did” and then Ryoji heads off back in the direction of the woods.

 

Minato rests his head against the cool window of the train. His thoughts feel hazy and his throat feels dry and scratchy. Damn. 

He makes it back to the dorm, barely, and collapses face down in the couch. Someone, presumably Mitsuru from the sound of it, tsks and rests her hand across his forehead. She leaves and comes back with a cold compress.

“I swear, if everyone gets sick from this I will not be happy.” she mutters under her breath, and if Minato was feeling better he would point out that she was the one who got Yukari and Hamuko sick in the first place but instead he just sinks deeper into the couch cushions and drifts. He wakes up slightly to Shinjiro asking him about food but Minato waves him off and falls back to sleep. His slumber is rudely interrupted by a pillow to the face.

He pulls it off and glares bleary eyed at his sister’s wide grin.

“Aren’t you supposed to treat your younger brother with more respect?” He asks.

She rolls her eyes. 

“Come on, you made me walk up to my room last night, now it’s your turn”. He grumbles and rolls back into the couch. Somewhere he hears Junpei mutter,

“Wow he’s just like a kitten” Before he’s unceremoniously shoved off the couch.

“Go on, up to bed.” Hamuko says from her perch on the couch. Minato sighs but with a grudging effort, peels himself up and to his room. 

 

He spends the next few days between his room and the bathrooms, Aigis hovering nervously at the edge of his room when he goes to sleep and wakes up. Hamuko does cover his shifts at the cafe, which helps to ease the sting out of getting sick but he’s still in a foul mood when Wednesday rolls around and he’s finally deemed well enough to return to school. 

 

Perhaps that’s the reason why he misses the way his students have been gossiping since his arrival in the morning, or the larger than normal group of girls waiting outside his class door, peaking in. He slides into his seat, already debating whether or not he can get away with sleeping through his history class when a familiar voice reaches his ears.

 

“Minato, I didn’t realize you were in this class.”

He jolts up and looks at Ryoji, seated at the desk to his right.

“R-Ryoji?” he asks, eyes wide in confusion.

“You know Ryoji?” Junpei asks from behind him, curiosity in his voice.

“We’re friends.” Ryoji answers for him before turning his attention back to Minato.

“When did you-”

“-get here? I transferred on Monday.” Ryoji puffs out his chest, looking satisfied with himself.

“Please refrain from speaking with Minato” Aigis intones from behind them both. The three boys look at her in confusion.

“Hmm, is something wrong Aigis?” Ryoji asks, tilting his head to the side again.

“You are... “ she pauses as if searching for the right words, “...dangerous” she finishes.

Ryoji gives her an unreadable look.

“Not this again” Junpei chimes in. “Aigis give the guy a break”.

 

Aigis opens her mouth to reply but stops as the teacher walks into the classroom, effectively ending all communication. 

Minato stretches in his seat as their lunch break starts. He’d managed to barely avoid falling to sleep, he hopes Mitsuru is proud of the effort that that took. Ryoji tosses him a packet of bread from the store. 

“Do you want to eat together?” he asks.

“Minato-” Aigis starts from behind him, a warning look written clear on her face.

“Sure” he replies.

 

“So… what happened? I thought you like-”

        “-lived in the woods and ran around like an animal who doesn’t go to school.” Ryoji finishes and Minato snorts. 

 

“Nothing much, my family only recently moved here so I just wasn’t able to get enrolled until now” Ryoji explains, idly playing with the end of his scarf.

 

“You are lying” Aigis replies, startling Minato who had forgotten she was there.

“Aigis!” Yukari cuts in, clearly scandalized, “you can’t just call people liars!”. But Aigis ignores her and continues,

 

“Your heart rate increased and you glanced to the side as well as began playing with your scarf as a nervous tick.” She continues.

 

Junpei laughs nervously before sharing a look with Yukari. In unison they both link arms with Aigis and lead her away from Minato and Ryoji who has an increasingly confused look across his face.

 

“Your friend… is a little odd.” Ryoji says looking at him curiously.

Minato shrugs.

Time passes, first a day, then a couple days, then a week, then a couple weeks.

 

Ryoji quickly worms his way into Junpei and his daily life, despite Aigis’ distaste. Minato finds himself looking forward to school, to seeing Ryoji’s smiling face, to watching the girls that flock to him pout when he turns them down to spend time with Minato. He doesn’t even realize himself how much fun he’s been having until Hamuko stops him on the way home from school.

 

“You seem… happier” she says, looking at him curiously.

“I suppose.”

“I’m glad. After Pharos disappeared you kind of shut yourself off” she continues but stops at the pained expression on his face.

“Sorry, I-“ she stops.

“How do you do it?” He asks.

“Do what?”

“Remain so- so positive? After everything, why do you… He was your friend too.”

“Minato” she grabs him by the shoulders, “I just pretend to feel okay because that’s the only thing I know how to do” she turns away from him, hiding her face for a moment before looking back.

“We’ll find him again, one day, okay?”

He nods.

 

The next day their test results come in. He’s surprised to see himself in the top ten but even more so surprised to see Junpei get a passing grade.

He’s heading to his desk when Junpei excitedly comes into the room.

 

“Hey man, Mitsuru is ordering sushi because everyone at the dorm passed midterms, do you want to come?” Junpei asks Ryoji, casually slinging his arms around both Minato and Ryoji.

Minato sighs, “Personal space”, and steps out from under his grasp.

“I-“ Ryoji pauses a brief flash of concern crosses his face “I’d love to, I’ll have to leave earlier though” Junpei nods excitedly.

“Awesome, I gotta go tell Yukatan” and then he’s gone.

Ryoji sides up to him.

“How come your so uncomfortable with Junpei getting so close but you let me touch you all the time?” He asks.

Minato pauses to think about it.

“I told you to let go when we first met” Minato replies.

“Yeah but you don’t anymore.” Ryoji adds, slinging his arm over Minato’s shoulder for emphasis. Minato resists the urge to roll his eyes, especially when a classmate shoots him a jealous look.

“I guess I trust you” Minato finally decides. Ryoji freezes.

“You really shouldn’t” he murmurs, low enough that he has to strain his ears to hear it. And then the arm around his shoulders is gone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title from Cat Power's cover of the song Werewolf because I've been listening to werewolf referenced songs all week.   
> Me planning this chapter out: let's have more than just references to Ryoji not being human pls  
> Me writing this chapter: lmao u thought  
> Anyways this is rapidly becoming longer than expected but I won't give up.  
> Aigis is staying a robot in this AU because it's hard to imagine her as anything but a robot lol


	3. my heart's a prisoner to my ribs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get some more backstory and Pharos in this chapter and some more... supernatural interactions.

Minato walks home with Yukari, Fuuka and Aigis, both happily chatting about the plans for the night. Aigis excitedly listing off types of sushi she wants to try, much to his and Yukari’s chagrin. 

“Ummm Aigis? Can you even eat food?” Yukari asks, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

“In the traditional sense, I do not digest food for sustenance, however,” she sticks out her tongue, “my thounge ith equiped with thenthors thimiliar to a humanth”.

“Could you repeat that Aigis?” Fuuka asks, fighting back the urge to giggle.

Aigis carefully puts her tongue away.

“My tongue is equipped with sensors similar to a human. It was originally so I could detect dangerous substances in food without drawing attention to myself, however the Kirijo company has been working on expanding my” she pauses frowning in thought, “digestive qualities, in order for me to blend in more.”

“I suppose that makes sense” Yukari replies, “although I don’t think anyone can stand out when eating compared to this guy”, she adds giving Minato a playful nudge.

He shrugs.

“It’s a talent”

“Minato does eat a lot of food at a speed 2.3x faster than the rest of you, rivaled only by Hamuko’s speed” Aigis states.

“A-aigis” Fuuka says, before the giggles get to her.

Minato lets out a soft smile as Yukari joins in, much to Aigis’ confusion. This is nice. It almost makes him forget about the thrum of anxiety he has running through him. Something about the way Ryoji had been acting when Junpei asked him to come wasn’t sitting right with him.

A flash of blue catches his eye and he follows it, leisurely, letting the girl’s chatter among themselves in the background. He follows the shimmer, as it twists through the air, and then he blinks and golden eyes blink back at him. He jolts backwards.

The woman giggles.

“Are you quite alright?” she asks a not unkind smile on her face.

“You, just startled me, is all” Minato replies haltingly. 

Her smile grows wider.

“I see you’ve decided to continue down the path of strife.” she says, like it’s a perfectly normal comment to make to a stranger. She laughs again.

“Interesting, do you not remember who I am?”

His eyes widen. Had she read his mind?

Her smile reveals no answer. 

“What are you talking about?” he ventures instead.

She tilts her head. 

 

“In 1941, German-American science fiction writer Curt Siodmak wrote a movie called The Wolf Man, have you heard of it? I am told it was quite popular, enough so that it had multiple sequels. In it there’s a poem recited,” she pauses to take a breath.

 

“ _ Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolf-bane blooms and the autumn moon is bright _ .” 

 

She takes a step towards him, Minato’s heart speeds up, blood cold. She reaches for him and plucks a stray leaf blown by the wind out of his hair. She examines it curiously.

“Thank you for the gift”. She says, carefully laying the leaf between the pages of a book in her hands.

 

Minato frowns in confusion and then in the blink of an eye, she’s gone.

“Minato, are you alright?” Aigis asks, standing waaay too close for comfort. Minato backpedals.

“I’m fine.”

She gives him a calculating look.

“My systems registered an anomaly in your readings, are you sure you are alright?” She asks again.

He waves her off and heads to the dorm.

 

Unlike the first time he met her, this time Minato can’t stop replaying her words over in his mind. Even as Hamuko brings in Saori to the dorm and Shinjiro tentatively takes both the girls’ coats. Even as Junpei introduces Chidori to everyone. Even when Mitsuru relaxes enough to joke and smile with the group or Koromaru demands belly rubs. Even when Ryoji bursts into the dorm and Hamuko starts to tease him, he can’t help but turn the words over again. 

 

“Are you okay?” Ryoji asks, slipping away from Junpei and Aigis to lean against the food counter Minato’s stationed himself by.

He shrugs.

They stand there, Ryoji waiting him out.

“I guess I just have a lot on my mind.” Minato finally ventures.

Ryoji inclines his head, encouraging him to continue.

“I met someone odd today.”

“Odd?” Ryoji ventures.

Minato nods and then in an effort to finally take the encounter from his mind he looks up at Ryoji.

“She may have even been odder than you” he says in a teasing tone.

Ryoji plays along, grasping his chest in fake pain.

“Odder than me? No… could it be that your secretly planning on replacing me with an odder stranger? How can this beeeeeeee?” He collapses and slumps down under the table.

Minato gives him a few tentative nudges with his foot.

 

“Well, I suppose since Ryoji’s dead I can have his helpings of food.”

Ryoji sits up, grabbing Minato’s legs.

“Don’t you dare.”

Minato makes direct eye contact with him and reaches over to Ryoji’s plate, grabbing an egg and then, without breaking eye contact putting it in his mouth.

 

Ryoji drags him under and Minato falls, laughing half sprawled out on the floor and half across Ryoji’s lap. He can hear his sister over the din of the dorm throw a stage whispered, “gaaaay” in his direction but he flips her off, turning to look at Ryoji instead.

 

His cheeks are flushed from laughter, a smile across his face.

“I can’t believe you did that” he says in fake indignation. 

Minato smiles, and then his brain promptly begins to overheat as Ryoji reaches up and sticks his fingers in the corners of Minato’s mouth, opening his mouth for comedic effect.

Minato was raised with a twin sister though and knows how to play this game, he licks Ryoji’s fingers, causing the other to yelp and quickly retract his hands. He can’t help the giggle that escapes him at Ryoji’s affronted expression, a mix between embarrassment and disgust. 

In retaliation Ryoji wipes his slimy fingers all over Minato before finally relenting. 

He’s still sitting in his lap, Minato realizes belatedly, and feels his face immediately flush.

Ryoji gives him an expression he can’t quite place.

 

“All right, come on lovebirds” Junpei calls down to them, startling them both. “Akihiko started an arm wrestling competition and he says you’re a better impartial judge than Hamuko”.

“I suppose that’s our cue” Ryoji murmurs, the heat of his breath so close to his face causing him to shiver. He reaches over, easily pulling Minato up with him.

 

The rest of the afternoon delves into a chaos that only teenagers who’s mental capacities had just been fried by testing can cause.

 

Chidori is the first to go, apologizing as Junpei leads her to the door. Her sketchbook is held tight to one side, Junpei’s hand held lightly in the other. He apologizes as well, saying he’s going to walk Chidori back. They wave them off. 

 

Next is Saori who needs to make the journey back before it gets dark and her parents decide to ground her forever. She gives Hamuko a quick peck on the lips before leaning up to give Shinjiro a smooch on the cheek, causing all three participants to blush a fierce red.

 

Ryoji smiles and covers Ken’s eyes while Minato makes retching noises beside him. 

Hamuko flips him off, behind everyone’s back.

 

Ryoji lets go as Ken sputters about being old enough to see two people kiss. He checks his watch.

 

“Minato?” he says tentatively, glancing at him.

“Hmm?” Minato looks over.

“I have something for you” he says, before handing him a small rectangular box.

Minato looks at him in confusion. But Ryoji simply shrugs, his expression hidden behind his scarf.

Carefully he opens the box.

A silver ring rests inside, looped through a simple necklace chain. Minato carefully picks it up, turning it over in his hands. Marveling over the small leaf pattern along the outside.

“I-thank you” he says, slipping it over his head, the ring nestling just above his music player. 

Ryoji smiles and Minato feels like his heart is about to burst.

 

“I suppose it’s time for me to go too.” he says breaking Minato out of his reverie, and Minato’s heart aches. Those words, seemed so familiar somehow. 

 

Ryoji waves them all goodbye, earning a goodbye from everyone, even Aigis who offers a tentatively polite farewell.

 

The cleanup is tough, but Mitsuru doesn’t let any of them head up to their rooms until it’s done… although Minato’s fairly certain he saw Junpei slip past them when she wasn’t looking.

 

With everything put away, Minato slinks up to his room, collapsing into his bed. He closes his eyes, and lets his dreams carry him.

 

The dream starts the same as it has every other time he’s had it. The wind whipping at his clothes and hair. The sound of sirens in the distance. Smoke and the scent of blood permeating the air. Hamuko’s crying. He left her back by the car, or rather, she left him. Crawling towards the wreckage. The sun is coming up, bathing everything in an eerie bright light. Pharos looks up at him, his normally pleasant expression replaced with one that mirrors the screams of his sister behind him.

“I- I suppose it’s time for me to go” he says, voice raw and cracked. Minato reaches out for him, but his vision goes dark.

 

He keeps reaching, further and further until his hands close around something soft. The dark clears and the object in his hand becomes apparent. A yellow scarf, caked with blood and stained by gravel. He drops it and looks up into Pharos’ eyes. He blinks and it’s no longer Pharos but Ryoji before him.

 

“Minato” he says, his voice sickly sweet a twisted grin across his face.

“Do you trust me?” he says.

Minato takes a step back. Ryoji laughs, his voice distorted and twisted, teeth elongating and sharpening. Minato turns and runs. The light of the moon illuminating his way.

 

Minato jerks out of bed, heart pounding. The dorm is silent and still. He brings his breathing back under control and lays back down, willing his mind to rest. It doesn’t work though, his mind keeps flashing back to his nightmare. With a sigh he jerks out of bed, changing out of his sleeping clothes. The necklace Ryoji gave him, resting cooling around his neck.

 

On nights like this, he often goes to the Shopping Center, wasting away the late hours of the night at the Karaoke place, or sneaking into the club to meet with the strange Monk who often frequents the place. Today though, he lets his feet carry him where they wish, allowing his mind to take a backseat for awhile. 

 

It’s not until he glances up that he realizes with startling clarity where he is.The wind bites at his hair as he takes in the arches of the bridge before him, barely illuminated by the artificial street lights. The bridge where he lost his parents. He should’ve stayed home. He should’ve just stayed in bed and waited out the morning. He turns to head back the way he came. Stamping down the ache in his chest when a noise stops him.

 

It sounds like the grinding of metal. Like the sound the sink disposal unit in the dorm made the one time Junpei had dropped a fork in it. He turns towards the sound, wincing as it grows louder, the definite sound of something dragging along the ground and the creaking of metal growing louder.

 

He startles as the shape becomes apparent, slinking out of the shadows. A person, dragging themselves on the ground except… that couldn’t be right. Something was wrong, something was very, very wrong with the image. His heart beating in his chest, he slowly approaches the moving form. If it was a person, clearly they would need help and yet. He stops as the person comes into focus.

 

Oh. Oh god. 

 

He runs forward.

“Aigis!” 

 

She turns to look up at him. The sides of her face scraped away to reveal the metal framework underneath. A dark smear of oil and machine lubricant trailing behind her. Legs torn at the torso, leaving jagged open stumps on her torso, wires dangling out, a few sparking dangerously.

 

“M-mi-minato” Her voice is halting, barely audible. She reaches for him. He bends to grab her but she slaps his hands away and looks up at him, the bright blue of her eyes fading.

 

“Run” she says and then slumps to the ground. He kneels down, cradling her head in his hands.

 

“Aigis? Aigis!” she doesn’t respond. He grits his teeth and attempts to pick her up. Cursing as her weight cases him to stumble. Even without her legs, Aigis weighs more than an average human. He swears and tries again, reaching under her arms, doing his best to avoid looking at where her legs should be.

 

“C’mon Aigis, it’s going to be fine, we’ll get you out of here, come on” she doesn’t respond.

 

The grating metallic sound continues followed by a crack.

Minato jerks his head up. 

 

There’s another shape in the alleyway. He can’t tell what it is, but whatever it is, it’s big. Eyes glowing red against the the dim light. The figure pauses, watching him. Minato catches a glint of something metal by its side but he doesn’t dare turn his head to look.

 

The figure lets out a low growl and then. it. moves. 

 

Minato stumbles back, the thing’s hot breath burning across his legs as he turns and runs. 

He hears the sound of it following behind him. Too many footsteps for it to be human. He chances a glance back, sees the glint of its teeth and too many limbs and he picks up his speed. The creature swipes out, catching his leg in its grasp and Minato falls, hard, cracking his head against the pavement.

 

Everything is stars and heat. He can’t see. He blinks, trying to move but there’s a weight on top of him. Hot rancid breath, tinged with the tang of metal and oil blowing across his face. He whimpers and shuts his eyes tight. 

 

And then in a flurry of movement the shape is shoved off him, the movement violent enough to roll Minato onto his side along with the creature. He opens his eyes. There’s another creature in front of him, standing between him and the first. A wolf? No, he blinks his eyes. It’s too big, too gangly. Like someone took a wolf and elongated its form. 

 

Minato rolls off his side and runs. He chances a glance back. The larger figure, the first one with the red eyes, is staring, unmoving. The other… is gone. His heart lurches and he turns around coming to a dead stop when he sees the shape in front of him.

 

It’s the wolf, standing on its hind legs. Unreadable blue eyes staring back at him. The figure reaches out towards him and then snatches its limb back as if burned, letting out a pained whimper, and taking a few steps back. 

 

Minato freezes as the wolf-like creature circles him. Growling lightly under its breath. He can’t move. No matter how fast he is, this thing is faster. So instead he freezes.

 

Hamuko had explained it to him once.

 

The body has three common responses to a situation like this. Fight, flight or freeze. Hamuko was always the fighter. She’s the one who ran out of the wreck towards the mangled remains of their parents, she’s the one who got detention for a week after punching out the upperclassmen trying who taunted them at their old school, the one who when convinced a ghost was in the downstairs of the dorm, had rolled up her sleeves to find it. Pharos had been a runner. The first time they’d met him he’d run behind the slide at the playground, refusing to come out until he calmed down. He was the one who, when a group of middle schoolers had started leering down at them, had grabbed Hamuko and Minato and tore off down the street in the opposite direction. And Minato… he froze. He froze after being thrown from the car. He sat frozen as Pharos ran away from him. And now, staring down the blue eyes of the creature in front of him, he freezes again. 

 

The wolf’s growl cuts off, and then it lunges, knocking the wind out of Minato as he hits the ground again. As fast as it had jumped on him it just as quickly scrambles back, whimpering again. His vision is going hazy again, the pain in his head overcoming everything else. There’s an idea forming in his head. A ridiculous one, but right now it’s all he has. He reaches to the necklace around his neck, the silver cold against his clammy hand. He lifts it from his neck, holding it in his hand.

 

The creature snarls.

 

Minato thrusts it out and the creature drops back down to all fours, scrambling backwards with a whimper.

 

Minato takes the chance. He turns and runs, necklace caught tight in his hand, glinting off the moonlight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3c  
> chapter title from Werewolf Heart by Dead Man's Bones
> 
>  
> 
> ...  
> Aigis sweety I'm so sorry, we'll get you patched up. Am very mad that Ryoji and Minato didn't kiss this chapter but it didn't quite fit in right so it got left on the chopping block. In other news this is still on track to being completed before the end of October and I am excited.


	4. my word is binding, more binding than sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brief descriptions of a panic attack this chapter

When Ryoji wakes up, the world is awash in blue. He groans checking over his strained muscles and aching limbs, taking account of his current status.

 

“Rough night?” A voice chimes in from his right. He startles at the sound and then sighs, closing his eyes briefly.

 

“You would know about that more than I do, Liz” he responds, opening his eyes to see the woman before him.

She looks uncharacteristically unhappy. Corners of her mouth dropping down into a frown. The usual book by her side is gone, replaced by a leaf she seems to be absentmindedly twirling in her brands. He glances at it curiously, a throwing a silent question her way by the quirk of his brow.

 

“I see you decided to pass the ring on to your human friend.” she says, twirling the leaf around and around.

 

“Are you watching him as well?” Ryoji asks instead of answering her directly. 

 

“It is the duty of those of us who rule over power, to watch over and guide those that could tip the balance.”

“But- as you said, he is a human.”

She smiles then, her eyes flickering mischievously.

“A human who has survived not one, but two encounters with your father.” she replies.

“What did you say?” Ryoji stares up at her in alarm, but she simply laughs, stepping back into the beyond where he cannot follow.

 

Ryoji blinks again and the blue fades, leaving him alone again.

 

* * *

 

Minato wakes to Koromaru licking his face and whining. He sits up, disoriented by his surroundings, but burying his hands in the dogs fur comfortingly.

 

“Minato? What happened? Are you okay? Why are you sleeping out here?” Fuuka’s soft voice is filled with worry and an edge of franticness that he hasn’t heard since the time Natsuki went missing. Carefully he opens his eyes.

Sunlight streams in causing him to blink back tears before he adjusts to the lighting.

 

He’s sprawled out at the steps of the dorm. Vaguely he acknowledges the aches in his body and the grime he’s covered in but with his consciousness comes the memories.

 

“AIGIS!” He yells out and stumbles to get up, fumbling his way into the dorm with Fuuka’s concerned shouts trailing behind him.

He slams into Shinjiro who blinks confusedly down at him before grabbing him by the shoulders to slow him down.

“Minato? What’s wrong?” His voice is gentle, more gentle than he’s thinks he’s ever heard from Shinjiro.

 

“It’s” he gasps for breath “Aigis, she’s hurt” he takes another breath, “we need to get her she’s- I left her- I didn’t mean-“ Shinjiro looks wildly about the room before meeting Hamuko’s sleepy face.

She glances up at him and then at her brother and the tiredness leaves her face. She quickly takes over for Shinjiro.

“Hey- hey Mina. I need you to breathe with me, just like we did when we were kids okay?” She grabs his hand and puts it on her chest; breathing in deeply, waiting for her brother to follow along.

 

Shinjiro turns, running up the stairs to Mitsuru. If something is wrong with Aigis, she’ll be able to find out quickest.

 

By the time Shinjiro makes it back downstairs, Minato’s grumpily bundled under the biggest fluffy blanket he’s ever seen. It’s also a bright pink and judging from the frown on Minato’s face and the smug smile on Hamuko’s he can only assume that it’s her blanket. He sighs. At least Minato’s calmed down enough to be engaging in playful sibling interactions. He turns his attention back towards making Koromaru’s breakfast.

 

It’s 30 minutes later when Mitsuru finally makes her way to the common room. She has a trail of the rest of their dorm mates behind her, from Akihiko who looks like he’s been awake for awhile (probably to train) and Junpei who looks ready to fall asleep standing up.

 

She directs them all around Minato, her expression somber.

 

“I have good news and bad.” She begins, glancing around the room to make sure she has everyone’s attention.

 

“The good news,” here she directly catches Minato’s attention, “is that Aigis is going to be fine.” 

 

Shinjiro frowns and surreptitiously glances at Minato, so something had happened to Aigis? Jesus, what happened?

 

“The bad,” Mitsuru pauses and it doesn’t go unnoticed to either himself or Akihiko the flash of fear and concern that she hides in that pause.

 

“The bad news is that she’s in the lab for the foreseeable month, as her legs are going to have to be rebuilt from what we salvaged”

 

There’s a sharp intake of breath from beside him and Shinjiro looks down at Yukari’s horrified expression.

 

Mitsuru holds up a hand effectively cutting off any interruptions.

 

She turns to Minato.

 

“The chairman is currently overseas along with my father. So in the interim if it is alright with everyone here, Minato, will you please tell us what happened?”

 

Minato nods, once, and begins talking.

 

* * *

 

 

Ryoji carefully opens the door to his small cottage, wearing at his incompetence. He’d found his clothes in shreds by the front door, answering his question about how he’d managed to escape in the first place. Gathering up the bundle of tattered fabric he turns to the center of the room and he sits and he waits.

 

The memories won’t be complete, they never are, but the sooner he can try to reclaim them, the more in-depth they’ll be.

 

He breathes in slowly, counting to five and then exhales. When he’s ready he opens his eyes, pupils dilating.

 

The change had come faster than he’d expected, he’d miscalculated. Hands trembling for the doorknob and missing, the pain whiting out his vision as the seams of his clothes bent and his limbs elongated. 

 

After that the vision becomes blurry. He catches the scent of a small rodent, and chases it to its home before snapping his jaws over it.

 

Ryoji scrunches up his nose, resisting the urge to leap up and run for a toothbrush and pushes on. He’s eaten worse and bigger before, this is fine.

 

His vision blurs again, and he’s pacing around the outside of the cottage. There’s a foul scent there, one that wasn’t there before, one that shouldn’t be there.

He growls low in his throat and follows it.

The wrong thing, the bad thing the-

 

Ryoji exhales calmly, willing his anger to dissipate as the claws of his hand begin digging into his thighs. The last thing he needs right now is a partial or full transformation from anger, he’s better than this.

 

The memory continues. He follows the scent out of the woods, into the residential areas and more urban streets. It’s a blessing that he didn’t run into anyone on his way out. A false blessing he quickly realizes as the wrong scent slowly begins to intermingle with the strange and familiar metallic scent he’s come to associate with Aigis. The memory blurs again becoming an incomprehensible jumble of scents and colors before it solidifies again and Ryoji almost forgets to breathe. 

 

It’s Minato standing before him in his memories. Eyes wide in fear. Ryoji desperately tries to stop himself from chasing after him, tries to stop the ache in his gums as his familiar scent fills him. His memory continues to play out, heedless of his wishes. Ryoji watches as one single clawed arm reaches out for him and then winces in second hand pain as the ward inscribed into the silver of the ring reacts. His memory blurs again but Ryoji’s seen enough. He comes back to himself and sighs. Minato’s okay, and that’s all that matters.

 

* * *

 

There’s silence after Minato finishes talking. Hamuko looks torn between holding him so close he’ll never escape again and punching him in the face for going out at night without telling anyone. The seniors on the other hand have all gone pale, trading glances with each other a silent debate between the three of them. Finally Akihiko steps forward, face a blank mask.

 

“I suppose now’s as good as a time as any to begin training.”

 

All eyes turn towards him.

“Akihiko”

“Aki…”

 

Both Mitsuru and Shinjiro start and then stop, concern evident in both their voices.

He turns to them.

 

“Look, I’m not going to force them to join our group, Hell we’re not even officially a group until we come of age according to the company, but the least we can do is make sure that they survive.”

 

Shinjiro chuckles and promptly hides his face by turning away from Mitsuru’s reproachful glare.

 

“Is this about the Kirijo group?” Yukari asks, suspicion and something else flickering across her face.

 

Akihiko looks to Mitsuru and she sighs. He has a point, as much as she hates it.

 

“Yes.” She concedes, before continuing, “three years ago Akihiko, Shinjiro and I started to look into the disappearances on this island, my grandfather,” and she tries very hard to keep her anger out of her voice at his mention, “was doing experiments on the supernatural. His end goal is still unknown, but it was during this time that the predecessors to Aigis were being made as well. The three of us started a group to assist these mechanical creations in hunting down or at the very least finding and relocating any supernatural elements the Kirijo group tampered with, with the help of the chairman. When my father found out he stopped us and ordered us to wait until we graduated.” She stops and looks at the room.

 

“You understand,” she continues, “there’s no need to involve yourselves further in this matter, doing so will only endanger you all.”

She lets the silence sink in.

 

“I’ll do it.” Yukari interjects, face a determined mask.

“Yukari- I” 

She shakes her head.

“Don’t underestimate us. Aigis is our friend, and Minato barely escaped. I won’t sit around and do nothing.”

She can practically feel Akihiko and Shinjiro agreeing beside her.

 

“Yeah!” Junpei interjects, “we’ll be like heroes and besides it wouldn’t be right to sit back and do nothing” 

 

Fuuka nods, thoughtfully. 

“If I can help, I will.” She adds.

 

Hamuko and Minato both nod, an identical look of determination across both their faces. Finally Mitsuru turns her attention to Ken. His fists are clenched slightly at his sides.

 

“I want to help too.” He says, determination seeping into his voice.

“Ken, I don’t” She starts but he cuts her off, surprising everyone in the room.

“I know I’m young. I’m still a child compared to everyone here, but I want to help too.”

 

Mitsuru sighs and rubs at the incoming headache she can feel in her temples, she suspects vaguely that this might be the reason Shinjiro tries so hard to act unattached to them all.

“Very well, let us begin.”

* * *

  
Minato flops down onto his bed, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hits the pillow. Between his rough night and Akihiko’s training he expects to sleep like a rock. He blinks and his eyes register blue. He blinks again and the blue expands into a room. Once more and the woman from before is there.

 

“Have you found your answers?” She asks. Putting down the leaf he vaguely recognizes and instead reaching to examine the ring hanging around his neck.

He jerks back. “Personal space” 

She smiles and steps back.

“My apologies, we simply weren’t expecting this outcome.” She continues.

He frowns. 

“Why are you here?” He asks

She blinks and then smiles,

“We rarely get to observe humans. It is an honor to have the opportunity Minato.”

“Who are you”

“My name is Elizabeth, I am an attendant here” she gestures around them, “we preside over power and observe, record and preserve the balance of such” she gives a small curtsy.

He opens his mouth to ask another question but she shakes her head.

“I believe it’s time for you to return to the world of wakefulness”

 

Minato jerks awake to the sound of his phone ringing. He blindly gropes for his phone and flips it open, fully intending to tell whoever is on the line to call him back.

 

“Minato” Ryoji breathes out and he quickly changes his mind.

“Ryoji?” He croaks out.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” He asks, concern and s hunt of amusement coloring his voice.

“No, I’m up” Minato replies, stifling a yawn and the urge to roll over.

Ryoji lets out an amused huff.

 

“You can go back to bed, I was just calling to see if you were alright.” Minato pauses, a fearful suspicion sneaking into his mind.

“... of course I’m alright.” He replies, voice flatter than he intends.

“Ryoji sighs through the phone.

“You don’t have to do that you know?” 

“Do what?”

“Lie to me. Look, can you meet me at my house later today? There’s something I need to tell you.”

 

* * *

 

 

Minato finds himself in the woods 4 hours later. Hamuko quietly humming by his side, a picnic basket swinging by her hip. If he didn’t know better he’d think that she’d fabricated her date with Saori just to keep an eye on him, but knowing how notoriously hard scheduling time with Saori had been since her move it’s more likely just a lucky coincidence. He turns off the path and Hamuko follows him.

 

“Are you sure this is the right place?” She asks, staring at the little cabin in the woods.

He nods. She gives him a suspicious glance before shrugging. 

 

“Well if your not back by the time I’m done eating lunch with Saori, I’m busting in here” She narrows her eyes “with Mitsuru” she adds for good measure. Minato resists the urge to roll his eyes because he doubts Mitsuru will be willing to come all the way out here when she’s busy filing reports to her father.

He waits until the crunch of leaves under Hamuko’s feet fades into the distance before knocking on the door.

 

It swings open almost instantly Ryoji pulling him into a hug and slamming the door behind him.

Heart throbbing in his chest, Minato tentatively returns the strong grip before backing up.

 

“Ryoji?” He questions.

Ryoji takes a step back, dipping his head back into his scarf.

“Sorry, I just… was really concerned.” Ryoji adds, shifting his eyes away.

“Why?” Minato asks, dreading the answer.

Ryoji looks up at him, his expression somber. Minato takes a deep breath.

“I was there last night Minato”

And all the air leaves his lungs.

“I- I attacked you” his voice wavers and Minato has the desperate urge to reach out to him.

Ryoji steps back.

“It would be safer for you to forget about me.” He continues, face turned towards the floor, away from Minato.

“No.” 

“Minato, the only reason your alive right now is because of that ring. If it wasn’t for the silver and the ward infused in it, you’d be dead Mina! Why don’t you understand this? I should never reached out to you again.” He takes another step back. 

 

But Minato steps forward.

“Ryoji…”

Ryoji shakes his head.

 

“I’m sorry, but this is goodbye.”

Minato steps forward again, grabbing him by the shoulders.

“I’m not losing you again.”

Startled blue eyes meet his own.

“I won’t let you run away again, Pharos”

 

Ryoji crumples, leaning into Minato, eyes rapidly filling with tears.

 

Minato guides them to a seating position, letting Ryoji lean against him. It feels like hours before either of them brave the quiet.

 

“When did you figure it out?” Ryoji finally asks in a half whisper.

 

“When you left the party, although…” Minato thinks back to their first meeting, the quiet hours spent together, how Ryoji would sometimes stare when he thought he couldn’t see him, “maybe I always knew.”

 

He feels Ryoji? Pharos? sigh against him.

 

“So… what do I call you now?”

“Ryoji’s fine. I gave up the name Pharos a long time ago.” And there’s something off to that phrasing that makes Minato pause, but he shakes the discontentment away.

 

“Why did you leave?”

“To get away from my father.”

Minato frowns, even as children Pharos had never broached the topic of his family.

“Why did you return?”

The boy slumps next to him, leaning away.

“Because he’s trying to find my mother.”

Minato frowns.

“And that’s a bad thing because?”

“If he finds her Minato, it means the end of all things.”

 

Minato’s silent for a moment, processing the information. 

“Who was the other that was there last night?”

Ryoji lets out a controlled exhale.

“Erebus” 

Minato waits, holding out for an answer the same way Ryoji would when he was waiting for Minato to do the same.

“My father.” He finally elaborates after a few heartbeats. Minato flashes back to the image of the creature, all long limbs and large torso, glowing eyes and the smear of oil across its mouth.

 

“What are you?”

Ryoji cocks his head to the side, frowning slightly.

“I thought it was obvious.”

Minato rolls his eyes.

“I’ve never heard of a werewolf who’s parents meeting up leads to the end of the world”

 

Ryoji gives him a small smile.

“Been hanging around other werewolves? Be careful, you might make me jealous.”

Minato lets out a small laugh, surprising even himself.

 

He grabs Ryoji’s hand, tangling their fingers again.

“Please don’t run away from me again.”

Ryoji’s eyes flicker and shift to the side, before finally he looks straight into Minato’s eyes.

 

“Sure but, it’s going to cost you.” 

Minato frowns in slight confusion.

“ The price is, you have to promise to be my boyfriend.” 

 

Silently Minato stands up. He walks to the door and opens it, leaving a very confused Ryoji behind him.

 

Hamuko stands, hand outstretched to knock on the door, her outfit suspiciously disheveled which, ew gross, Minato internally retches.

 

“Hey! You’re not dead! Are you ready to go?” She asks, rocking back on her heels.

 

“Go ahead and head back without me.”

She frowns.

“But Mina-“

“-HamHam, I’m going to close this door on you and then go kiss my boyfriend” he pauses pretending to think for a moment, and just to be antagonizing adds,

“Oh and then afterwards I’ll tell you about where Pharos is.”

“Wha- hey Minaaaaaa”

He closes the door and turns back to Ryoji, who’s trying a bit too hard to look naive.

 

“I know you could hear that” Minato says walking back to where the other is sitting.

“Hear what?” Ryoji replies, but he’s smiling, a big warm smile that shows off just the hint of his teeth.

Minato leans down and kisses the smile off his face.

 

Ryoji laughs, pulling Minato down into his lap. He knows not all their problems are solved, but in this moment, they’re happy, and for now, that is enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> annnnd it's done, sort of....  
> I'll continue to build upon this universe but I wanted to close this story on minoji going from pre-relationship to beginning relationship haha. Chapter title comes from Faun Fables "A Fearful Name" which is a great song that's very hard to find the album version of online T.T
> 
> please leave a comment or a kudos on the way out if you enjoyed ^^

**Author's Note:**

> this was not supposed to be multiple chapters long and yet look where we are. Title is from Werewolf Gimmick by The Mountain Goats.  
> Talk to me about persona at [squallisdead on twitter](https://twitter.com/squallisdead)  
> 


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